2009 Ford Explorer problems
The 2009 Ford Explorer has 49 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (10%) concerns cruise control. Next are engine (10%) and seats (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 49 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Cruise control 10% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 8 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 7 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 67,000 miles 37 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 6 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 3 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 5 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 7 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 4 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 5 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 3 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 37 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 67,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 8 complaints mention a crash; 7 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 83% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2009 ranks 36th most-complained-about out of 36 model years of the Ford Explorer with enough data (24 complaints in that window).
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl* the contact owned a 2009 ford explorer. While driving approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle unexpectedly traveled off the road and crashed into a tree. The air bags failed to deploy and the front driver's seat belt buckle failed to lock properly. The driver suffered a fractured rib, bruised lung, and a broken tooth. In addition, the contact sustained an injury to the forehead. Medical attention was received. A police and a fire report were filed. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to an independent mechanic.
I put our britax diplomat car seat in my wife's ford explorer. I attached the seat belt and the extra long strap that is attached to the top of the car seat that gets hooked to a hook on the seat. The excess strap was hanging out the door and we did not realize it when we drove away with our 2 year old daughter was in the seat. The strap was dragging on the ground and got caught under the tire and violently pulled the car seat towards the door, then the strap broke.
Light was blinking on dash on right side if you tap it would come on now only one side of dash lights up air conditioner blow out frost on compressor right side of truck door lock will not come up when you press locks dealer needs to fix this not the cust it makes you don't want to buy a ford any more.
Ford: my 2009 ford explorer eddie bauer v6 exhibits an intermittent fault/alarm with the rsc system while driving on public roads (street, freeway, highway). All the instances occurred had been properly documented and discussed with the local ford dealer in repeated visits that should be documented on their books. In all instances the alarm is *** not *** registered in the non-volatile memory (nvm) portion of the on board computer (as evidenced by dealer records to me).